Warriors : Cursed Shadows
by SimonScamps
Summary: When Eggstar, leader of ThunderClan, causes the accidental death of a newly named WindClan warrior, will ThunderClan be safe? Or will it be cursed forever?


Eggstar stood, curling his tail around his paws, watching his Clan calmly. He gazed across the clearing, his blue eyes shining with pride. The camp was abuzz with activity. Leopardtail was hoisting fresh-kill across the camp, her apprentice Moorpaw following a fox-length away, muscles rippling under his dark gray fur, and a mouse dangling from his small white jaws.

Blackclaw was nursing her kits, a gray tabby she-cat and a black tom with a white underbelly. Rabbitfoot was licking his mate's head rapidly, gazing proudly at the kits. Quartzdrift carried a rabbit and a chaffinch to the nursery, dodging the thorny strands of den.

Weaselnose came back from patrol with Dewpaw. The brown tom sat, noticing that his leader was about to call a meeting. Dewpaw flopped down next to him, her white fur glistening with drips of water.

Eggstar gave a firm yowl,"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the highrock for a Clan meeting."

Cats gathered below. Poppyspin straightened her ginger head, her big blue eyes gazing up at Eggstar. Moorpaw sat down by Rabbitfoot. Quartzdrift and Lionbelly lie down on either side of the group, exactly in the center. Leopardtail and Bouldertooth joined, and Timberpelt, Littlejaw, and Cloudfur followed, with Ashpaw, Dovepaw, and Lightpaw, with yes, Crowear.

"ThunderClan, we are in grave danger. WindClan is growing stronger, and I doubt Flamestar will give us the light of day. We must train and train fast. I know they're planning an attack."

Growls of anger rose from the crowd. Rabbitfoot hissed loudly, and Eggstar thought he heard a cat growling about how WindClan were crowfood-eating mousebrains.

Eggstar continued. "I shall make one of these apprentices a warrior to make sure we have enough. Ashpaw, step up."

The gray and cream tom climbed the rock swiftly. "Ashpaw, you have trained hard to understand the warrior code. With your loyalty and strength, I wish upon StarClan that you become a great warrior. Do you promise to defend the Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"Yes." replied Ashpaw. "Then by the power of StarClan, I give you the name..."

Eggstar thought and thought. Then a heartbeat later, he had a name. "Ashheart!"

"Ashheart! Ashheart! Ashheart! Ashheart! Ashheart!" yowled the Clan.

Ashheart padded to the entrance tunnel to sit vigil.

"Cloudfur, Rabbitfoot, and Crowear. Dusk patrol. Make sure the borders are clear and scented extra heavily."

"Quartzdrift, Lionbelly, Leopardtail, Moorpaw, hunting patrol."

Eggstar dipped his head. The group disbanded. Eggstar fell into his nest, flexing his claws into the soft moss. He gazed into the sky. "StarClan, give me answers, please."

Firefrost, the medicine cat hadn't had a message for moons. Had StarClan abandoned them? Had StarClan lead them to here, and then let them go with enemies at all corners?

Eggstar sighed and fell into his nest, his blue eyes shutting ever so slowly. Fading fast, he drifted to sleep.

"Eggstar! Eggstar" Rabbitfoot's cry awoke Eggstar like a morning finch. He rose, shaking sleep from his eyes and limbs. He stepped from the darkened den and out to the musty dawn air. "Intruders."

"I'll deal with it." Eggstar padded from the center of the camp to where he saw two young tomcats. One was bright ginger with dark grey paws, a white muzzle, and amber eyes. The other was mostly black and tortoiseshell with white paws, one cream paw, and brown and ginger speckles, with blue eyes.

"Leave or die." spat Eggstar.

The speckled tom growled. "Make us. Your pitiful Clan won't survive one blow of my claws."

Eggstar spat at the remark. He lost his temper and lunged, hooking his strong claws into the tom's throat. The speckled tom fell and hissed. The other tom sprung.

The ginger tom sunk his fangs into the side of Eggstar's flank. Eggstar rammed him off and the speckled tom sprung again. Eggstar turned and clashed his side into the tom's face, slamming him into the brush. Eggstar tackled the ginger tom. He kicked and spat. Eggstar scored his claws across the warriors face.

Suddenly WindClan burst through the camp wall. Eggstar's eyes filled with shock. "Thunder Clan, attack!" he yowled. The ginger tom sunk his claws into Eggstar's ear. Eggstar wriggled free and sliced open the warriors belly.

A gray tabby she-cat came over. "Brackenfang, run!" The ginger tom fled, grateful.

The speckled tom spat. "Let's get him, Mistpatch."

"Right, Duskheart." They lunged, slicing open Eggstar's sides. Eggstar tilted on his back paws, throwing Mistpatch away. Duskheart pounced from behind, lodging his fangs into Eggstar's hip. Eggstar winced with pain and flung Duskheart aside. Mistpatch sprung again, slicing into Eggstar's neck. Eggstar flung her off into a corner of bushes.

Eggstar heard a wail. Mistpatch had her hind leg tangled in brambles.

Duskheart stood, then reared up and pinned Eggstar down. Mistpatch was pulling her tangled leg free.

Eggstar narrowed his eyes in defeat. Then suddenly, he slammed the patchy warrior off with his hinds. Then he slammed his claws into the warrior's chest, hoping to scare him off. But the speckled warrior was pushing upwards, lodging Eggstar's claws further and further in. Duskheart was struggling and fighting, throwing his hinds up beneath. But Eggstar's claws were in tight. Eggstar pulled rapidly,

trying to unlodge his claws out. Duskheart wriggled to one side, and gasped up blood.

"My heart!" he gasped, his pale blue eyes glaring up in fear. Blood began to dribble from his jaws. Mistpatch was still trapped in the bramble brush. Duskheart tried to lie a paw over the deep wound, but he gasped up more blood. His eyes went blank, lifeless. Duskheart twitched slightly, wriggling like a fish on a bay. Suddenly, the speckled warrior went still.

Eggstar gasped, staring on in horror. He gazed down at his bloodstained paws. "Why Duskheart? Why couldn't of it have been me? I don't care if he's WindClan... StarClan, please!"

Duskheart gasped up more blood and twitched again. He flopped a few more times, gagged up blood, and went limp.

Eggstar gazed at the warrior's bloody body. His cream paw was stained with blood, placed over the wound. Eggstar could barely tell the color. Duskheart's eyes were glaring at the sky, his eyes burning pits of fear. Eggstar backed away, oblivious to the battle the surged around him. Tailspin, the deputy of ThunderClan, padded over, gasping with shock. "Di-did you kill him?" "Yes, it was an accident. I'll explain it later."

Suddenly, a dark brown tom with a sliced ear yowled out in alarm. "Duskheart's dead!"

"WindClan, retreat!"

Eggstar realized that the dark brown tom was Sparrowfur. He trotted over as the warrior was about to disappear over the hills.

"Where's Flamestar?" questioned Eggstar.

"Oh, you didn't hear." growled Sparrowfur.

"A fox attacked last night. Flamestar died saving Duskpaw's life.

"Duskpaw became Duskheart under my words. Now my own apprentice is dead...

Who killed him?" spat Sparrowfur.

"I'm sorry, Sparrowfur, but I did..." Warriors fleeing through the holes in the briar wall surrounding the camp growled deeply in their throats.

Sparrowfur hissed. "We will avenge his death. Keep your ears perked, Eggstar."

"It was an accident!" yowled Eggstar.

Sparrowfur whirled around. "How so?"

"I was sinking my claws into his chest, and he wriggled too far, my claws slashed through a space in his ribs and sliced open his heart."

"Eggstar, have StarClan bring you a thousand moons of no prey!" Sparrowfur fled after his warriors, leaving Duskheart's body cold and stiff in the sunlight.

Eggstar looked down sadly at the body. It was still frozen in the position it had been since Duskheart's death. His paw struggling to block the wound, his eyes glowing in horror and fear, glaring at the sky, his pelt stained with blood, his dark head fur splattered with blood.

Eggstar took Duskheart by his scruff and dragged him, walking stiffly. He dragged and dragged through the moss, bracken, gorse, and rocky overhangs until the came to the moor. Eggstar dropped Duskheart's body near the camp and fled over the border swiftly.

Finally the next gathering came along.

Eggstar lead his group, Rabbitfoot, Lionbelly, Quartzdrift, Tailspin, and Firefrost to the great rock. Sparrowstar was coming, followed by Cedarstar and Bubblingstar.

The cats gathered. "Let the gathering begin!" yowled Eggstar. The leaders hopped into position. "Sparrowstar, shall you speak first?"

"ThunderClan are dirty murderers! I witnessed the death of Duskheart, my newly named apprentice. He died in great pain." Cats gasped in shock below. "It was an accident!" howled Eggstar, growling. Cedarstar jutted in. "Surely you're making this up. I deny that ThunderClan would ever do that on purpose." Bubblingstar spoke as well, her pale gray, sleek RiverClan fur bristling. "Sparrowstar, you're a new leader. Do not accuse innocent cats." Cats yowled and hissed, ejecting their claws.

Clouds glistened in the sky, letting out rain and covering the moon. "The gathering has ended. Cats, you may retreat to your camps." spat Cedarstar, his long, dark pelt wet with rain. He bounded in the direction of the pine trees.

Bubblingstar leapt away, leading RiverClan to the roaring gorge.

Sparrowstar ejected his claws and raked them across Eggstar's face, then fled to the moor with WindClan.

Eggstar shrugged and fled into the darkness, his Clan following in a steady hum of footsteps.

Eggstar's eyes opened. He was lying on the grass of Fourtrees, near the great rock. A speckled tom stood before him. Eggstar instantly recognized the outline as Duskheart. "Greetings, Eggstar. It was my fault I died. And now my Clan is blaming you." Eggstar opened his jaws to speak, but nothing came out. Eggstar began to run, but something pulled him back. He fought the force and fled, lost in the starry land. He saw Bluefang, an elder who had died several seasons back in ThunderClan, on patrol with a queen who had died kitting, Finchstorm, and Featherpaw, an apprentice who was killed by greencough a moon before. He didn't have time to greet them, and ran on and on. The starry land disappeared, turning into a dark, misty, gray forest with tall, ancient trees, and big logs, with gorse and moss growing in every crevice. Eggstar turned on his paws. A big ginger tom ejected his claws.

"Flamestar!" spat Eggstar. Eggstar ejected his claws. Flamestar slashed into Eggstar's underbelly, dicing away some flesh. Blood squirted from the wound, staining the dark grass.

Eggstar fell back in pain, his belly torn open wide. He coughed up blood. Then, when his vision was fading, Duskheart entered the Dark Forest, and hoisted Eggstar onto his shoulders. He fled through the dark woods.

Eggstar woke up. His vision was clouded, and Firefrost was pressing cobwebs into Eggstar's belly. The wounds were deep and painful. Eggstar blinked his eyes open. "Flamestar, DarkForest." He gasped.

Eggstar lay in the medicine den, his belly gushing blood onto the ground. "What?" meowed Firefrost. "I was in the Dark Forest. Flamestar attacked me. Then Duskheart came in and saved my life."

Eggstar got up and limped out of the den. "Thanks." he mewed. Eggstar looked around his camp once more. Weaselnose was padding thorns into the camp wall with Poppyspin, Dewpaw, and Lionbelly. Tailspin was carrying fresh-kill into the camp with the rest of the hunting patrol. He held a mouse and a dove in his jaws. Quartzdrift followed, holding a finch and a sparrow. Lightpaw was bounding after her mentor Bouldertooth, holding chaffinches and voles.

Littlejaw was taking Dovepaw to the training hollow. Eggstar followed to watch. They padded through the hunting grounds and then stopped in a thick briar and willow tunnel that was three treelengths high, and two treelengths long.

Eggstar sat, as Littlejaw mewed some gibberish and sprung at Dovepaw. Dovepaw ducked to the side, pawing at his hip as she pounced. Littlejaw nodded. Eggstar left as they continued to practice.

As Eggstar padded through the thick undergrowth, padding straight to camp. He saw outlines of cats as he padded. He saw they were a small brown she-cat, a black tom, and a white she-cat. They reeked of fish. "RiverClan territory. I'm right on the border." he mewed softly. The black tom perked up his ears and charged over.

"What are you doing on RiverClan territory?" he meowed.

"Marking ThunderClan borders. We settled the borders at the gorgeline. Not here. Yes you can hear the gorge and see it, but I'm still on my side." mewed Eggstar.

"Right. Now scent your pitiful borders. I'm done here."

Eggstar sprang into the brush, extending his claws. "Mousebrain." he spat under his breath. Eggstar padded straight forward until he reached camp.

Eggstar saw the camp. It was safe and sound, thankfully. Eggstar padded to the highrock. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highrock for a Clan meeting." Then WindClan broke through the thorn barrier, ejecting their claws.

Sparrowstar yowled. "WindClan, attack!" Cats burst everywhere. Eggstar realized he had brought the whole Clan! "ThunderClan, attack!"

Cats shot forward from both sides. Blackclaw was running, both kits in her jaws. Quartzdrift was helping Brindlestripe, a pregnant queen run away into the briars.

Eggstar gazed around the clearing. A gray tom had Lionbelly pinned, claws hooked into his shoulders. A brown she-cat was raking her claws across Lionbelly's sides. Lionbelly gave a yowl of pain as a third tortoiseshell she-cat flung herself onto him, biting into his flank. Eggstar shot up, dragging off the gray tom. Weaselnose charged up, heaving off the other brown she-cat.

The gray tom sliced his claws across

Eggstar's hip. Eggstar tilted his hip and kicked the tom in the face, raking his muzzle with his hind claws. The gray warrior turned, slicing Eggstar's head. Eggstar dove under the tom and tore open his belly with slashes of his hind claws. The gray tom screeched in pain and Eggstar pounced up, flinging him into the air.

Eggstar looked for another cat who needed help. Quartzdrift and Timberpelt were side by side, flinging away a dark gray tabby she-cat. Ashheart was biting into a tortoiseshell tom's throat, and throwing him down. Dewpaw, Lightpaw, Dovepaw, and Moorpaw were attacking Grassfur, the WindClan deputy. As soon as she tossed off Moorpaw, Dovepaw and Dewpaw sprung on. Lightpaw was biting into her hind leg, keeping her still. Poppyspin was lying near Firefrost. He was pressing cobwebs on a deep wound in her throat. Tailspin was holding off Brackenfang, Duskheart's friend, from attacking Firefrost on one side, and Cloudfur and Bouldertooth were holding off Mistpatch on the other. Brindlestripe, though a queen, was striking a stocky blue-grey she-cat's face.

Eggstar heard a wail. Like a kit's wail. He burst into the thornbushes where Blackclaw and her kits were hiding. Sparrowstar, unaware of Eggstar was raising his paw to strike a blow at the black tomkit. Blackclaw leapt in the way, and Sparrowstar's paw slashed her neck open wide. Sparrowstar was about to kill both of the kits, when Eggstar sprung and sunk his fangs into Sparrowstar's neck. He tilted his head, breaking it. Sparrowstar fell, and his eyes went lifeless. Sparrowstar was losing a life. "Mama?" mewled one of the kits. Their eyes were bright with hope. "Mama, we need to go back to the nest!" mewed the tom. "Mama? Mama?" they mewled. Eggstar picked them both up and set them gently in the nursery. Eggstar threw Sparrowstar from the nursery. "WindClan, retreat!" he yowled.

Eggstar approached Rabbitfoot and Firefrost. "It's Blackclaw!"

"Let's go" yowled Rabbitfoot. Firefrost fled after them into the bushes.

Blackclaw didn't move. Her eyes were clamped shut, her neck slashed down to the throat.

"May StarClan have mercy on you, Blackclaw." meowed Firefrost. Rabbitfoot stared in shock. Rabbitfoot hauled the body to the highrock. Cats gathered. Moorpaw and Leopardtail gazed on, with Cloudfur and Weaselnose.

Eggstar yowled. More warriors gathered. "May StarClan lay to rest your body, Blackclaw. You were a good warrior who loved her kits and mate." Moorpaw, Lightpaw, would you do the honors?" Moorpaw took one side of Blackclaw's body and Lightpaw the other. They lie the body in the bushes and scraped soil, daisies and leaves over it.

"Does anyone have any words about Blackclaw?" Rabbitfoot started to speak.

"Blackclaw, you were always a good friend, mate, and warrior. You gave your life for your kits. Have a good time in StarClan, and I love you."

Eggstar dipped his head and padded down from the highrock to Rabbitfoot. "I have names for my kits now." he meowed. "Good." Eggstar nodded. The two kits were sadly padding to their father's side. "Blackkit." he nosed the black and white tom. "And Vixenkit." he nosed the gray tabby she-cat.

"Alright. Now Rabbitfoot, Brindlestripe will mother these kits if she likes. I want you to go on patrol with Weaselnose, Dewpaw, and Crowear." The brown tom padded over to them.

The wind whistled in the leaves as Eggstar padded into his den, a plump chaffinch in his jaws. As he sat down to eat he wondered, "Will ThunderClan ever truly be safe from Duskheart's curse?"


End file.
